Austria sending ex-Croatian premier back home

SALZBURG, Austria 
A senior Austrian law enforcement official says former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader is being extradited to his homeland.

Austrian police detained Sanader on Dec. 10 after Croatian authorities issued an international arrest warrant charging him of corruption while in office, and he has been jailed in Salzburg ever since. Sanader - who maintains he is innocent - held the premiership of Croatia for six years until resigning two years ago.

Salzburg's head judge, Hans Rathgeb, told the Austria Press Agency that Sanader is en route under police escort to Croatia after being released from a Salzburg prison Monday evening.